Vehicle carrier assembly and method

ABSTRACT

A vehicle carrier including method and apparatus having a supporting frame which is removably connected to a conventional truck, trailer or other suitable transportable bed. A carrier is rotatably connected to the supporting frame so that the carrier is rotatable through as many as 360*. A peripheral barrier exists along both sides and at each end of the carrier, the end barriers being selectively displaceable to provide ingress and egress ways. A ramp is detachably connected to the carrier at the ingress or egress way. In the method of using the carrier assembly, the carrier is oriented either parallel to the transportable bed or projecting transversely away from the transportable bed. The ingress barrier is displaced out of the way and the ramp attached so that a vehicle can drive onto the carrier. When it is desired to remove the vehicle, the carrier may be rotated to either side of the transportable bed or toward the rear end of the bed, the barrier removed and the ramp attached so that the vehicle can be easily driven forwardly off the carrier without manually lifting or backing the vehicle from the carrier.

3,757,972 1451 Sept. 11,1973

1 1 VEHICLE CARRIER ASSEMBLY AND ABSTRACT METHOD t:Hl.Mt'TFll,ldh [75]or am d G ar Wm a S a o A vehicle carrier mcludmg method and apparatushav- Burley, Idaho [73] Assignee: TDM Corpo ation, ing a supportingframe which is removably connected [22] Filed: May 12, 1971 to aconventional truck, trailer or other suitable transportable bed. Acarrier is rotatably connected to the supporting frame so that thecarrier is rotatable [21] Appl. No.: 142,498

through as many as 360. A peripheral barrier exists along both sides andat each end of the carrier, the end barriers being selectivelydisplaceable to provide ingress and egress ways. A ramp is detachablyconnected to the carrier at the ingress or egress way. In the method ofusing the carrier assembly, the carrier is ori- 04 6 54 4 4 1 1 MP 2 4 10 E 1. 8

flul N. m ..mm4 ""4 2 m Tn c I r "8 u e U In CH .M Sm UHF lll 218 555[56] References Cited ented either parallel to the transportable bed orpro- UNITED STATES PA jecting transversely away from the transportablebed. The ingress barrier is displaced out of the way and the TENTS rampattached so that a vehicle can drive onto the carrier. When it isdesired to remove the vehicle, the carrier may be rotated to either sideof the transportable bed or toward the rear end of the bed, the barrierremoved and the ramp attached so that the vehicle can be easily drivenforwardly off the carrier without manually lifting or backing thevehicle from the carrier.

Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza I 7 Claims, 9 Drawing FiguresAssistant Examiner-John Mannix Att0rneyl 'l. Ross Workman,

Patented Sept. 11, 1973 3 Sheets-Sheet l Rm mm 5 I T m ww W01 Ill.

Patented Sept. 11, 1973 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

mnzoun c. MARTIN 141s ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 11, 1973 3 Sheets-SheetINVENTOR- qmzoun c. MAIZTIN ms ATTORNEY VEHICLE CARRIER ASSEMBLY ANDMETHOD BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Invention The present inventionrelates to vehicle carrier assemblies and more particularly to apparatusand method for loading, transporting and unloading vehicles or othertransportation means.

2. The Prior Art Historically, when vehicles such as snowmobiles and thelike are loaded into a truck or upon a trailer, the snowmobile must bemanually lifted into the rear end of the truck or trailer, anchored inplace and, after removal to a desired location,-again manually liftedfrom the truck bed or trailer.

conventionally, even if the snowmobile is driven over a ramp to the bedof the truck, removal of the snowmobile from the truck is awkward anddifficult. For example, if the snowmobile is driven onto the truck, theonly access way to the truck bed will be at the rear of the snowmobile.To remove the snowmobile from the truck, it is usually necessary for twopersons to lift the front and rear of the snowmobile and physicallycarry the snowmobile from the truck bed. Most truck beds are notsufficiently wide to allow the snowmobile to be turned so that the frontof the snowmobile faces the accessway to the truck bed.

Moreover, even .if the truck bed were sufficiently wide to allow thesnowmobile to be turned approximately 180 to face the access way to thetruck bed, it requires efforts of two persons to manually lift androtate the snowmobile in position prior to removing the snowmobile fromthe truck bed. Until this present invention, no rapid, efficient andsimple way of loading and unloading snowmobiles or other vehicles fromtrucks or trailers has been provided.

BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention,including apparatus and method, provides a systemfor easily loading asnowmobile or other vehicle on a carrier rack removably attached toconventional trucks or trailers. The snowmobile may be easily loaded bya single person from the rear end-of the truck or from either side, asdesired. Once the snowmobile is loaded, the carrier may be rotatedthrough any desired number of degrees of rotation to allow thesnowmobile to be driven forwardly off from' the truck or trailer. Thus,a single person may easily load and unload a snowmobile or other vehiclefrom a truck or trailer without difficulty.

It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to providean improved vehicle carrier assembly.

It is another primary object of the present invention to provide a novelmethod of loading and unloading ve-' hicles from truck or trailer beds.

These and other objects and features of the present invention willbecome more fully apparent from the following description and appendedclaims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspectiveillustration of. a-

presently preferred carrier apparatus embodiment of the inventionillustrated in an orientation rotated 90 from its at-rest state in anunloading position;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the component partsof the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the turning structureused with the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view of another turning apparatusembodiment which may be used with the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a transverse crosssectional view of anchoring apparatus usedto anchor the support frame to a truck bed;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of coupling apparatus used withthe front and rear gates of the carrier of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the taching structurecarried by the ramp;

FIG. 8 is a perspective illustration of one preferred loading positionfor a snowmobile; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective illustration of the carrierapparatus with mounted snowmobile and detachable ramp shown in storedposition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference is now madeto the figureswherein the preferred method and apparatus embodimentswillbe' described. In the various views, like numbers will be used todesignate like parts throughout.

THE APPARATUS The apparatus of thepresent invention relates primarily tothe so-called piggy-back transportation of one vehicle by another. It iswithin the scope of this invention to transport snowmobiles,motorcycles, livestock or any sort of self-propelling vehicle or animalwhich more easily moves forward than reverse and which from time to timeneedto be transported on a vehicle. The carrier herein described may bemounted on a truck,.truck bed or trailer or any other transportingvehicle having a relatively rigid bed. For simplicity, the followingdescription will relate primarily to snowmobile loading and unloadingonto and off a pickup truck or the like.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 1, a snowmobile generally designated20 conventionally includes a seat 22, an engine housing 24, front skiis26 and a driving track 28. The snowmobile shown in FIG. 1' is situatedupon a carrier generally designated 30. In the illustrated embodiment,the carrier 30 is constructed of square iron tubing 32 comprising arectangular platform 32. The platform 32 is covered with steel mesh 34or any other suitable covering which has been welded at spaced locationsover the rectangular frame. Preferably,'spaced reinforcing-members (notshown in FIG. 1) are disposed beneath the expanded metal mesh 34 to givesupport to the mesh.

It is presently preferred that the carrier 30 be sufficiently wide toaccommodate two snowmobiles in sideby-side relation. Further, barriersor side rails 36 are provided on each side of the carrier 30 to preventthe snowmobile 20 from inadvertently falling from the edge of theplatform 32. The side rails 36 are also formed of square metal tubingand are welded at each end to the platform 32 and at intermediate spacedlocations to braces 38 which give support to the side rails 36. Clearly,if desired, the carrier 30 may be formed of solid metal or round tubularmetal or any other suitably strong construction material.

The front end 40 of the carrier 30 is provided with an end barrier orgate 42 hingedly connected to the platform 32 near the junction of theside rails 36. The front gate 42, shown in the open position in FIG. 1,is shown in the closed position in FIG. 2. The trailing end 44 of thecarrier 30 is similarly provided with an end barrier or rear gate 46more clearly shown in FIG. 2.

Referring specifically to FIG. 6, the side rail 36 is joined to theplatform 32 by an angularly-oriented connecting member 48. Theconnecting member 48 has spaced cylindrical sleeves 50 and 52 welded orotherwise permanently attached to the rear sloping surface of theconnecting member 48. A connecting rod 54, welded to the gate 46, isoriented so as to be in alignment with the sleeve 52 and to project intothe sleeve 52 so that the gate 46 will rotate in hinge-like fashionaround the axis of rod 54 and sleeve 52. Thus, gate 46 may be displacedfrom the position illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6 to the positionillustrated in FIG. 9 as will be hereinafter more fully described.Clearly, any suitable hinge connection could be used.

The upper end 56 of the gate 46 has welded thereon a second annularsleeve 58 into which a latching dog 60 is situated. The latching dog 60is continuously biased toward the illustrated extended position by aspring 62. As shown in FIG. 6, the gate 46 is normally locked in theclosed position. However, when desired, the fastening dog 60 may bedisplaced against the bias of the spring 62 so as to be removed from thesleeve 50 thereby allowing the gate 46 to rotate upon the axis of rod 54to an open position as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. If desired, the frontgate 42 may have hinge and latching structure substantially identical tothat described for gate 46.

Gate 42 is provided with spaced guides 64, each of which projectsoutwardly from the upper edge of the gate 42 toward the rear of thecarrier 30 when the gate 42 is in the closed position illustrated inFIG. 2. Similarly, gate 46 has guides 66 mounted thereon which projectforwardly and upwardly in a dog-leg configuration toward the front ofcarrier 30 when gate 46 is in the closed position illustrated in FIG. 2.The guides 64 and 66 function as holding brackets for the loading andunloading ramp generally designated 68 (FIG. 1) as will be hereinaftermore fully described.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, an annular plate 68 is mounted onthe underside of the platform 32. The mounting of the plate 68 onplatform 32 is best understood by reference to FIG. 3. Plate 68 iswelded or otherwise rigidly secured to crossing support beams 70 and 72comprising part of platform 32. The plate 68 has a centrally disposedannular aperture 74 through which the shank 76 of bolt 78 passes. Ifdesired, a washer 80 may be interposed between the bolt head 78 and theplate 68.

A lower plate 82 is aligned with the upper plate 68 and is similarlyprovided with a centrally-disposed annular aperture 84. As shown in FIG.3, the shank 76 of the bolt 78 also passes through the aperture 84 and alocking nut 86 and washer 88 join the plates 68 and 82 together.

Plate 82 is provided with a plurality of radiallyspaced preferablyhemispherically-configurated grooves 90. Each groove is adapted toreceive a spherical bearing 92. As shown in FIG. 3, the sphericalbearings rest in their corresponding grooves and support a portion ofthe upper plate so that the weight carried by the upper plate 68 isdistributed over the lower plate through the bearings 92. Furthermore,the mentioned arrangement allows the plate 68 to be rotated relative tothe plate 82 around the axis of the bolt 76. The plates 68 and 82, bolt78 and bearings 92 therefore comprise a swivel assembly.

The plate 82 is welded or otherwise rigidly mounted upon cross-members94 and 96 (FIG. 2) and upon lateral braces 98 such as by welding or thelike. Crossmembers 94 and 96v and lateral braces 98 form a part of thecarrier support frame generally designated 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, the carrier support frame 100 comprises tandemsupport bars 102 and 104 each of which is permanently joined to theother. The lower bars 102 are also welded or otherwise connected to thecross-members 94. Each of the lower bars 102 has inwardly-projectingflanges 106 and 108. Flanges 106 and 108 accommodate securing of thecarrier support 100 to the bed of a truck or trailer in such a way thatthe carrier support and connected snowmobile carrier can be quickly andeasily removed from the truck, when desired. For example, as shown inFIG. 5, the flange 106 projecting from the lower bar 102 has avertically-oriented bore 110 through which the shank 112 of a bolt 114passes. A generally U-shaped bracket 116 has a centrally-disposedaperture 118 through which the shank 112 loosely passes. A nut 120 andlock washer 122 secure the bracket 116 at any one of a plurality ofvertical positions along the shank 112 of bolt 114.

Conventionally, a truck generally designated and shown in FIGS. 1, 8 and9 has a truck bed 132 with sides 134 shown in FIG. 5. The sides have aninwardlyprojecting normally hollow shelf or rail 136 against which theU-shaped bracket 116 is tightly compressed by the bolt 120. Whendesired, the support frame 100 can be rapidly and efficiently removed bydisconnecting bolts 120 from the shank 112, removing the bolt 1 14 andlifting the support frame 100 and attached carrier 30 from the truck.Because the carrier 30, when attached, is spaced above the truck bed,the truck bed can easily be used for storage even when the carrier 30and frame 100 are attached.

Referring again to FIG. 2, it is observed that the cross-members 94 and96 and the supporting braces 98 are situated approximately one-third ofthe distance from the trailing end 44 of the carrier 30. This placementwas selected to maximize the clearance of the front end 40 from thetruck cab 140 (see FIGS. 1, 8 and 9) when the carrier 30 is rotated fromthe aligned position shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 to the position illustratedin FIG. 1. It has been found that when the axis of bolt 78 is displacedrearward from the leading end 40 of the carrier 30, the carrier 30 canbe placed somewhat closer to the cab 148 of the truck and still rotateto the FIG. 1 position without scraping the truck cab. However, ifdesired, the alternative embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 could be used.

Structure for displacing the swivel assembly and attached carrier 30 toand fro parallel to the length of the truck bed is shown in FIG. 4. Theplatform 32 and support frame 100 are joined together by plates 68 and82 with bolt 76 as described in FIG. 3, above. In this embodiment,however, the bolt 78 is caused to extend through an elongated slot 99 incentral brace 98. The lower surface of plate 82 is provided withparallel upper bearing races 142 and 144 each of which presents adownwardly-opening concave groove. Braces 98, situated betweencross-members 94 and 96 on the support frame 100, are rigidly secured tolower bearing races 146 and 148. Bearing races I46 and 148 presentupwardly-opening concave grooves which are in vertical alignment withthe grooves of upper bearing races 142 and 144.

Preferably, bearings 151 are interposed between the races 142 and 146and bearings 153 are interposed between races 144 and 148. Thus, theentire swivel assembly and the carrier 30 can be easily reciprocatedupon the bearings 151 and 152 along a line parallel with the bed of thetruck I30. Preferably, the amount of displacement of the carrier 30 isspecifically defined by the length of slot 99.

Using the structure illustrated in FIG. 4, the carrier 30 may beforwardly displaced until the front end 40 is juxtaposed the cab 140(see FIG. 8). When it is desired to rotate the carrier 30 to the FIG. 1position, the carrier 30 and attached pivot assembly is displacedrearward of thetruck a few inches to allow the carrier to be rotated tothe FIG. 1 position without hitting or scraping the cab 140. I

Reference is now made more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 7 whichillustrate the construction of ramp 68. Ramp 68 facilitates loading andunloading of the carrier 30 by providing a track over which thesnowmobile is driven onto or off the carrier 30.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ramp 68 is formed of square metal tubing inessentially the same way that the carrier 30 is formed. Ramp 68comprises a rectangular platform 150, the longest sides of the platform150 being only slightly shorter than the length of the carrier 30. Siderails 152 and 154 function as guides. to prevent the snowmobile 20 frominadvertently falling from the ramp 68 to the ground before it reachesthe remote end 156.

The platform 150 has a plurality of support members (not shown inFIG. 1) over which a metal mesh 158 is rigidly mounted. If desired, aplurality of spaced members 160 can be mounted in the center of the ramp68 along its entire length, the members 160 giving tractionand-stability to thesnowmobile 20 as it is driven over the ramp 68.While the members 160 are shown as part of the illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 1, clearly, their use is optional and the scope of this inventionwould include a ramp with or without members 1160.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 7, the proximal end 162 of the ramp68 is shown in fragmentary perspective. The proximal .end 162 normallyattaches to the carrier 30 at either the front end 40 or the rear end 44so that the snowmobile 20 may be driven off the carrier 30 or onto thecarrier 30, respectively. Attachment of the ramp 68 to the carrier 30 isfacilitatedby downwardly-projecting brackets 164. Brackets 164 projectsubstantially below the lower surface of platform 150 and are adapted torest over the lower edge of gate 42, as shown in FIG. 1 or,alternatively, over the lower edge of gate 44 as shown in FIG. 8. Whilethe brackets 164 may have any suitable configuration, the configurationillustrated in FIG. 7 has been found to accommodate rapid attachment anddetachment from the front and rear gates while at the same timeminimizing the risk of inadvertent detachment of the ramp 68 from thecarrier 30.

THE METHOD Having described the structure of the carrier assembly,reference is now made to the preferred method embodiment of theinvention and attention is directed particularly to FIGS. 1, 8 and 9.

Initially, the carrier 30 and connected support frame are mounted on thetruck 130. The mounting structure shown in FIG. 5 is used to secure thecarrier support 100 to the side rails of the truck parallel to the truckbed. Preferably, attaching structure similar to that shown in FIG. 5 islocated at each of the four corners of the carrier support 100 to insurea secure attachment to the truck 130.

In the normal position for transporting a snowmobile, the carrier 30 isoriented so that the front end 40 is adjacent the truck cab 142 and theside rails 36 are parallel to the truck bed. As shown in FIG. 8, thecarrier 30 may be easily loaded from this normal position. The loadingsequence includes opening the rear gate 46 so that the access way at therear end 44 is unobstructed. The ramp 68 is then attached to the gate 46preferably adjacent one of the side rails 36, and the snowmobile 20 isdriven forwardly onto the carrier 30. If desired, the ramp 68 may thenbe laterally displaced adjacent the opposite side rail 36 so that asecond snowmobile (not shown) may be driven onto the carrier 30 so as tobe in side-by-side relation with snowmobile 20.

With the snowmobile 20 properly positioned upon the carrier 30, the ramp68 is mounted in a vertical position upon the carrier 30 as shown inFIG. 9. The vertical position is maintained by situating the ramp 68between the forward brackets 64 and the rear brackets 66. Thus, the ramp68 is at all .times easily accessible from either the front or the rearof the carrier 30. Clearly, if desired, the ramp 68 may be carried inany other suitable position such as upon the truckbed, beneath thecarrier 30.

Since the position of the carrier 30 illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 is thepreferred position when driving the truck and associated snowmobile fromplace to place, it is preferable to provide a locking device, generallydesignated 170, at one of the comers of the carrier 30. The lockingdevice 170, if desired, may be substantially the same as the latchingmechanism for the front and rear gates, such as that shown in FIG. 6.The locking device will be normally displaced in an aperture or othersuitable receiver in the truck side wall.

In unloading the snowmobile 20 from the carrier 30, the locking device170 is released and the carrier 30 is rotated about the axis of bolt 78(FIGS. 2 and 3) to the position illustrated in FIG. 1. Thereafter, thefront gate 42 is open so that the egress way at the front end 40 of thecarrier 30 is unobstructed. The ramp 68 is then attached to the carrier30 at the gate 42 so that the snowmobile may be driven forwardly off thecarrier 30. Removing the snowmobile from the carrier 30 at a directionessentially normal to the length of the bed of the truck has been foundto be highly advantageous in many instances. For example, frequentlysnow is piled along the sides of a road to substantial depths.Historically, it has been extremely difficult to lift a snowmobile overthe steep snowbank caused by road scrapers and the like. Using thepresently preferred embodiment of the invention, the carrier 30 can beoriented as shown in FIG. 1 and the ramp 68 situated so as to bridgebetween the carrier 30 and the roadside snowbank. Thus, the snowmobilecan be driven directly over the snowbank.

It may also be desirable to drive the snowmobile directly from thecarrier 30 to a roadbed immediately behind the truck 130. When sodesired, the carrier 30 may be rotated another 90 degress from theposition shown in FIG. 1 so that the snowmobile 20 may be driven ontothe roadbed in a direction exactly opposite that shown in FIG. 8. Thus,as can be appreciated from this description, the carrier 30 may berotated through any of 360 degrees to make loading and unloading of thesnowmobile most convenient.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodimentsare to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and notrestrictive and the scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated bythe appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. Allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are to be embraced within their scope.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States LettersPatent is:

l. A vehicle carrier assembly comprising:

a supporting frame;

means for mounting the supporting frame upon a transportable bed;

means for carrying the vehicle upon the supporting frame, and whereinsaid carrying means is generally horizontally disposed and comprisesfront and rear barriers which are displaceable to a position which doesnot obstruct ingress and egress from the carrying means;

means for coupling the supporting frame to the carrying means, saidcoupling means comprising opposed plates, one of which is rotatablealong a path of arcuate movement relative to the other about a verticalaxis displaced rearwardly along the center line of the frame; and

means for loading and unloading the carrying means at any one pointwithin the field of points along the path of arcuate movement.

2. A vehicle carrier assembly as defined in claim 1 further comprisingmeans for maintaining the vertical axis in a first-forward position andmeans for laterally moving the vertical axis along the center line ofthe frame to a second, rearward position.

3. A vehicle carrier assembly as defined in claim 1 further comprisingfriction-reducing means including bearings, each situated within abearing race formed in the plates.

4. A vehicle carrier assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said loadingand unloading means comprises a ramp removably attachable to thecarrying means to form a bridge which the vehicle traverses duringingress to and egress from the carrying means.

5. A vehicle carrier assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein saidmounting means comprises means facilitating removal of the supportingframe from the transportablebed.

6. A vehicle carrier assembly comprising:

a mounting frame rigidly connectable upon a transportable bed, the framecomprising a first rigidly attached plate disposed rearwardly along thecenter line of the frame;

a carrying platform comprising a peripheral barrier, opposing portionsof the barrier being displaceable to form essentially unobstructeddiametrally opposed ingress and egress ways fora vehicle and a secondplate rigidly mounted upon the underside of the platform and generallyaligned with the first plate;

a pivot connecting the first and second plates and comprising meansallowing the plates to rotate one relative to the other about anessentially vertical axis;

antifriction means interposed between the plates so that the carryingplatform can be easily rotated about the essentially vertical axisrelative to the mounting frame; and

a ramp detachably connectable to the platform at each of the ingress andegress ways to provide access for the vehicle to and from the carryingplatform. v

7. A vehicle carrier assembly as defined in claim 6 further comprisingmeans for laterally displacing the second plate and connected firstplate and carrying platform to and fro over a limited distance relativeto the mounting frame.

1. A vehicle carrier assembly comprising: a supporting frame; means formounting the supporting frame upon a transportable bed; means forcarrying the vehicle upon the supporting frame, and wherein saidcarrying means is generally horizontally disposed and comprises frontand rear barriers which are displaceable to a position which does notobstruct ingress and egress from the carrying means; means for couplingthe supporting frame to the carrying means, said coupling meanscomprising opposed plates, one of which is rotatable along a path ofarcuate movement relative to the other about a vertical axis displacedrearwardly along the center line of the frame; and means for loading andunloading the carrying means at any one point within the field of pointsalong the path of arcuate movement.
 2. A vehicle carrier assembly asdefined in claim 1 further comprising means for maintaining the verticalaxis in a first forward position and means for laterally moving thevertical axis along the center line of the frame to a second, rearwardposition.
 3. A vehicle carrier assembly as defined in claim 1 furthercomprising friction-reducing means including bearings, each situatedwithin a bearing race formed in the plates.
 4. A vehicle carrierassembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said loading and unloading meanscomprises a ramp removably attachable to the carrying means to form abridge which the vehicle traverses during ingress to and egress from thecarrying means.
 5. A vehicle carrier assembly as defined in claim 1wherein said mounting means comprises means facilitating removal of thesupporting frame from the transportable bed.
 6. A vehicle carrierassembly comprising: a mounting frame rigidly connectable upon atransportable bed, the frame comprising a first rigidly attached platedisposed rearwardly along the center line of the frame; a carryingplatform comprising a peripheral barrier, opposing portions of thebarrier being displaceable to form essentially unobstructed diametrallyopposed ingress and egress ways for a vehicle and a second plate rigidlymounted upon the underside of the platform and generally aligned withthe first plate; a pivot connecting the first and second plates andcomprising means allowing the plates to rotate one relative to the otherabout an essentially vertical axis; antifriction means interposedbetween the plates so that the carrying platform can be easily rotatedabout the essentially vertical axis relative to the mounting frame; anda ramp detachably connectable to the platform at each of the ingress andegress ways to provide access for the vehicle to and from the carryingplatform.
 7. A vehicle carrier assembly as defined in claim 6 furthercomprising means for laterally displacing the second plate and connectedfirst plate and carrying platform to and fro over a limited distancerelative to the mounting frame.